Lawrence was founded in 1854 for the New England Emigrant Aid Company, by Charles Robinson, who later served as governor of Kansas, and named after Amos Adams Lawrence, a prominent politician and abolitionist and the son of famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence.

In the Bleeding Kansas era, Lawrence was a center of anti-slavery sentiment. On May 21, 1856, a pro-slavery posse led by Sheriff Samuel J. Jones burned the Free-State Hotel, destroyed the equipment of two anti-slavery newspapers, and looted several other businesses; no loss of life was recorded. Abolitionist John Brown's nearby Pottawatomie Massacre is believed to be a reaction to this event.

On August 21, 1863, during the American Civil War, Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill burned most of the houses and commercial buildings in Lawrence and killed 150 to 200 of the men they found in Lawrence. Of historical importance is KU's Pioneer Cemetery, perhaps best known for being the final resting place of Thomas Barber, as well as Elmer McCollum, KU alumnus who is credited with discovering Vitamin A.

The University of Kansas was founded in Lawrence in 1865 by the citizens of Lawrence under a charter granted by the Kansas Legislature, with the donation of 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land on Mount Oread by former Kansas Governor Charles Robinson and his wife, Sara, and a small monetary gift from Amos Adams Lawrence. As a college town, Lawrence is known for its liberal philosophy and distinctive culture.

Lawrence also holds the distinction of having been the site of operation for the state's first railroad in 1871 and the city where the state's first telephone was installed in 1877. In 1989, when the Free State Brewing Co. opened in Lawrence, it was the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years. The restaurant is in a renovated inter-urban trolley station in downtown Lawrence. The city also contains the state's only hydro-electric plant.

In the early 1980s Lawrence grabbed national, and later, world attention because of the television movie The Day After. The TV movie first appeared on ABC, but was later shown in movie theaters around the world. The movie depicted what would happen to average Americans, particularly those living in Lawrence and surrounding communities, if the United States was destroyed in a nuclear war. The movie was filmed in Lawrence with help from many people in the community.

Geography
Lawrence is located at 38°57'36?N, 95°15'12?W (38.959902, -95.253199)GR1.

This is about 25 miles (40 km) west of Kansas City, and about 20 miles (30 km) east of Topeka.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.3 km² (28.7 mi²). 72.8 km² (28.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) is water, including Potter Lake on the KU campus. The total area is 2.06% water.

Google Earth, software that allows the user to "fly" over the surface of the earth, mapped with high-quality satellite photography and accurate topographical data, has a default position when started up that is centered exactly on the town of Lawrence (specifically, on an apartment building lying between Compton Square and Regency Place). This may be verified by running the software and zooming in from the default start position without rotating the virtual globe at all. This location was set by Brian McClendon, a 1986 graduate of the University of Kansas and now a director of engineering at Google

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 80,098 people, 31,388 households, and 15,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,100.2/km² (2,849.4/mi²). There were 32,761 housing units at an average density of 450.0/km² (1,165.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.80% White, 5.09% African American, 2.93% Native American, 3.78% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.65% of the population.

Sue Hack, veteran City Council member and former Mayor, has taken the lead in disputing the 2005 interim Census Bureau estimate of Lawrence's population. There is a large discrepancy between the Bureau's estimate and the estimate of population by the City. It is felt that the low Federal number would have an adverse effect on Federal monies distributed to the City. To read the relevant article from the Lawrence Journal World, click here.

There were 31,388 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 30.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,669, and the median income for a family was $51,545. Males had a median income of $33,481 versus $27,436 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,378. About 7.3% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics and culture
While Kansas may be one of the most heavily Republican states in America, Lawrence is reliably Democratic. Douglas County, where Lawrence is located, was one of only two counties in Kansas whose majority voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential Election. Douglas County has supported the Democratic candidate the past four presidential elections. Douglas County was the only county in the state to reject the amendment to the Kansas Constitution prohibiting both gay marriage and civil unions in April, 2005.

Lawrence also features the customary staples of college-town liberalism, such as an anarchist bookstore, two microbreweries, a half dozen locally-owned coffeehouses, and a law protecting gay people from discrimination. The city is known for a thriving music and art scene; The New York Times called Lawrence "the most vital music scene between Chicago and Denver" in a travel column on February 25, 2005, and Rolling Stone named Lawrence one of the "best lil' college towns" in the country in their August 11, 2005 issue.

Lawrence's culture isn't just political activism and the arts; the town is famous for the University of Kansas's athletic teams as well. The highly-ranked Kansas Jayhawks basketball team becomes the town's obsession during the winter, and the football team has qualified for a bowl game two out of the past three seasons.

Education

Universities
The University of Kansas is the largest public university in the state with a total enrollment of under 30,000 including the Medical Center. It has over 170 fields of study—many nationally ranked—and nationally known Kansas Jayhawks athletics programs.

Haskell Indian Nations University offers free tuition to members of registered Native American tribes with an average enrollment of more than 1000 students representing all 50 states and 150 tribes. Haskell is the home of the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame and the Haskell Cultural Center.

K-12 schools
The Lawrence Public Schools USD 497 includes two public high schools: Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State High School. The athletic teams of the former are nicknamed the "Chesty Lions", and those of the latter are the "Firebirds". Both schools are 6A, and Lawrence High School leads the State of Kansas in most state championships won, with 101 championships. Private high schools include Bishop Seabury Academy, which is affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and the non-denominational Veritas Christian School. The two elementary schools with the highest scores on the yearly state assessments are Deerfield Elementary School and Quail Run elementary school.

Sites of interest
Downtown Lawrence, in particular Massachusetts Street, has a lively atmosphere and is filled with restaurants, galleries, shops, and music venues. Bowesock Dam provides hydropower to riverfront businesses like the Lawrence Journal-World.

The University of Kansas campus is home to many museums, including the KU Natural History Museum and the Spencer Museum of Art. The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics houses various artifacts from the life of the former Kansas Senator. Another possible site of interest is the Lawrence Arts Center. It has daytime activities, organized plays and acts, and an art gallery filled with artwork created by the townspeople. Artwork, theater, and other related activities are some of the biggest parts of Lawrence.

Clinton Lake is located approximately three miles (5 km) southwest of Lawrence and has areas for boating, swimming, fishing, and camping.

There are a variety of mountain biking venues, including the trails at Clinton Lake, and the river trails by the Kansas River.

Also see: Genuine Kansas Website